Picking Potential Leaders

John Maxwell on "The Law of the Inner Circle:" Those who are closest to me will determine the level of my success.

Good leaders realize the significance of surrounding themselves with talented people. That's why leaders repeatedly ask me, "How can I be sure to hire the right person?"

I have never discovered a foolproof hiring practice, but I do know finding a great hire goes hand in hand with identifying potential leaders.

Over the course of the next two editions of Leadership Wired, I'll explore eleven questions I use to spot a potential leader. Before I begin, I'd like to give credit to my mentor and friend Fred Smith. Several of these questions were developed from my conversations with him. Read the complete by Dr. John Maxwell.

TUNNEL THINKING - Persistence of Vision

In his article "Persistence of Vision," highlighted on Leadership Now, Michael McKinney uses the phenomenon of physical sight to illustrate a hazardous tendency in a leader's way of thinking.

As leaders, we absorb vast quantities of information, and we interpret life based upon our own attitude, emotions, opinions, and experiences. Out of necessity, we develop default habits of thought in order to connect the dots of the diverse elements of our lives and understand our world.

Leaders face the danger of thinking on autopilot. Instead of seeing with clarity, leaders can fall into the trap of making decisions from a limited perspective and a narrow mindset. Inflexibility and resistance to change are inevitable unless we make a concerted effort to force ourselves to widen the scope of our thoughts.

Read more by following these two links. Number one. Number two.

Beautiful Feet Conference at Cedarville University

Mark your calendar now and plan to attend Beautiful Feet at Cedarville University on June 2-3, 2006. Sponsored by the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio, this conference is designed to encourage, equip, and engage women in evangelism. All women who attend will hear what God is doing through women in America, have time to seek God's specific call for them, and receive resources to reach their community for Christ. Register today and commit to pray everyday through June 3 that multitudes of women will answer God's call to reach the lost.

Guest speakers in 2006 include Mary Kassian, Lori Beckler, and Jaye Martin. Babbie Mason will be providing music for the conference. For a word from our Women's Enrichment Consultant, Janice Brown click here.

Da Vinci Code movie provides ‘apologetic evangelism’ opportunity, says Kansas pastor

Pastor Jerry Johnston describes the upcoming Da Vinci Code movie, starring Hollywood star Tom Hanks and set to premiere May 19, as the biggest attack on the Christian faith this year.
"Nothing will come remotely close to it," said Johnston, who pastors the 5,000-member First Family Church in Overland Park, Kan., an affluent suburb of Kansas City.

To prepare his congregation for the movie's release, Johnston designed a series of sermons titled A Christian's Response to the Da Vinci Code: All the Fallacies Exposed, starting in March. The six-part series, spread out through four Sunday morning and two Wednesday night services, focused on the major attacks lobbed against the Christian faith from the book on which the movie is based. Read the full article by Cory Miller.

Responding to The Gospel of Judas

R. Albert Mohler Jr.

Headlines around the world are announcing the publication of a "long lost" and "suppressed" ancient document, known as The Gospel of Judas. The National Geographic Society announced the publication at a major media event April 6, just in time to boost publicity for its special on the National Geographic Channel April 9.

The announcement led to a frenzy of media coverage, ranging from responsible reports to outrageous sensationalism. According to some commentators, the publication of this new document will force a complete reformulation of Christianity and our understanding of both Judas and Jesus. In reality, nothing of the sort is in view. The document is highly interesting, however, offering an ancient and authoritative source into the thinking of heretical groups who offered alternative understandings of Christianity. Read the full article here.

Deceptive First Impressions at Church?

Anthony D. Coppedge wonders how many first time visitors will come to churches this Easter weekend and experience quality media, quality music and a well-planned out sermon only to attend next week and wonder what happened?

Sure, churches want to give their very best first impression on big attendance days like Easter, Mother's Day and Christmas. But how about that critical second impression - the one that happens when that skeptical visitor shows back up the following week after a big weekend? In many, many churches, the second impression will keep those seekers from coming back to investigate the claims of Christ. And that's sad.

Here's my point: Why is it that churches will work hard and really plan ahead for the big attendance days but won't plan ahead and use that same successful strategy week in and week out? Read the full article here.

The Official U. S. Time Site

Did your clocks get messed up a couple of weeks ago with the transition into Daylight Savings Time? This clock will give you the correct time within .2 seconds. Follow this link.

Recent Pastors.com articles on The Da Vinci Code

Throughout the last few weeks, Rick Warren's Ministry Toolbox has run a variety of articles designed to help prepare your church to minister in wake of the upcoming Sony Pictures release of The Da Vinci Code. As you sit down to prepare for how your church will respond to the movie, we thought you might be interested in having all of these articles in front of you at once. We'll continue to publish articles on this topic for the next couple of weeks. For the full listing follow this link.